PH-Dependent Transfer Hydrogenation of Water-Soluble Carbonyl Compounds with [Cp*IrIII(H2O)3]2+(Cp* =η5-C5Me5) as a Catalyst Precursor and HCOONa as a Hydrogen Donor in Water

Abstract

This paper reports a pH-dependent hydrogenation of water-soluble carbonyl compounds by hydrogen transfer from HCOONa as a hydrogen source (transfer hydrogenation) promoted by [Cp*IrIII(H2O)3]2+ (1, Cp* = η5-C5Me5) as a catalyst precursor in water. Complex 1 has been characterized by X-ray structure analysis, 1H NMR, and potentiometric titration experiments. The active catalyst, a dinuclear μ-hydride complex [(Cp*IrIII)2(μ-H)(μ-OH)(μ-HCOO)]+ (2), has been isolated and characterized by 1H NMR, IR, and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). The rate of this transfer hydrogenation shows a sharp maximum at pH 3.2 because the active catalyst 2 is generated from the reaction of 1 with HCOONa at pH 3.2 in the highest yield. The series of the carbonyl compounds consists of a straight chain aldehyde (n-butyraldehyde), a cyclic aldehyde (cyclopropanecarboxaldehyde), a ketone (2-butanone), an aldehyde-acid (glyoxylic acid), and a keto-acid (pyruvic acid). Products were determined by 1H NMR and atmospheri...